Dream Sky

by Brett Battles

  Other than that, he’d been able to drive at a pretty constant eighty miles per hour and had already blown past Binghamton, New York. If he kept up this pace, he’d get there before midnight.

  The sooner the better, he thought.

  WARD MOUTAIN NORTH, NEVADA

  5:23 PM PST

  “THAT WAS BERLIN,” Crystal said as soon as she disconnected the call. “They’re ready.”

  “How many is that now?” Rachel asked.

  She had been in the comm room since Pax and Ash left with their teams for the Ely Airport. The emptiness she’d been feeling since the death of her brother was still there, but she was no longer ceding control to it. With Pax and Ash and Chloe all away, someone needed to run things here. There was no time for a spiral into despair.

  “Seventeen,” Crystal said.

  “Eighteen,” Leon shouted. “Just confirmed with Johannesburg. Said it won’t be that much, but I told them whatever they can do will help.”

  Eighteen. That was good, Rachel thought, but would it be enough?

  She gave Leon a nod and said, “We need more.”

  30

  VAN NUYS, CALIFORNIA

  5:40 PM PST

  THE VAN NUYS Airport was located in the San Fernando Valley portion of Los Angeles. While there were landing strips closer to Dodger Stadium, those would increase the likelihood of the jet being seen as it descended. Van Nuys was hidden by the hills and just far enough away that the plane would hopefully touch down unnoticed.

  Still, Pax couldn’t help consider the possibility of a rocket knocking them out of the air as they headed toward the runway. When they were finally on the ground, he relaxed enough to unbuckle his seatbelt and push himself up.

  “All right,” he said, looking at everyone as the plane taxied across the tarmac. “We’re going to be met by some of my people here. It is very important that you all follow any directions we give you from this point forward. Not doing so could result in serious injury or…or worse.” He caught the eye of a man two rows back. “Duncan, you’re going to be squad leader of the people on this plane.” Duncan was one of the volunteers who had served in the military, a four-year stint with the British army.

  “Yes, sir,” Duncan said.

  “Anyone have any questions?”

  A hand belonging to a dusty blonde woman near the back went up.

  “Yes?” Pax said, pointing.

  “Well, um, I’ve never even hit anyone before. How am I supposed to shoot at someone?”

  A few others mumbled the same concern.

  “It’s not an easy thing to do, but if you’re looking for motivation, then let me remind you that the people holding the survivors are the same people responsible for killing nearly every person you know. Your acquaintances, your friends, your family—these are the people who took their lives.”

  The whole plane stared back at him, unmoving.

  He gave it a few seconds before he said, “Any other questions?”

  There were none.

  The moment the plane pulled to a stop, Pax opened the door, allowing the outside air in. It had a long way to go to match the balmy, tropical heat he’d experienced on Isabella Island, but the temperature was at least fifty degrees warmer than Ely had been when they left.

  He lowered the steps and climbed out to find six people standing next to several vans a few dozen yards away.

  “Nyla,” he said, smiling broadly as the group approached.

  “Good to see you, Pax.”

  After they shook hands, she presented the rest of her team to him, most of whom he’d already met.

  “We have three more who are keeping eyes on the station,” she said, and then turned to the only person she had yet to introduce. “This is Martina Gable.”

  Pax held his hand out toward her. “The immune girl,” he said.

  She looked a bit self-conscious as she shook his hand. “Good to meet you.” She glanced at Nyla. “Can we go now?”

  “You’re anxious about your friends, aren’t you?” Pax said.

  Martina nodded. “If we wait too long—”

  Pax held up a hand. “I understand.” He thought for a moment and then said to Nyla, “The other planes should be only a few minutes behind us, but there’s no reason to hang out until they get here. We’ll take this first group now and see what we can figure out.”

  “Of course,” Nyla said. She pointed. “We’ll take that van.” She turned to the man next to her. “Gabriel, you drive, and I’ll fill Pax in on the latest. The rest of you will bring the others the moment they’re on the ground, got it?”

  “Yes, ma’am,” the rest of her team said.

  Pax looked back at the volunteers, all of whom were off the plane now, and motioned at the van. “Load up. Time to go.”

  As he turned back around, Martina was looking at him.

  “Thank you,” she mouthed.

  He dipped his head slightly and put a hand on her back. “Let’s see what we can do.”

  __________

  THEY TOOK THE 101 Freeway from the Valley into Hollywood and approached the stadium from the basin side. Gabriel, clearly knowing where all the jams were, exited at Gower and turned down Hollywood Boulevard, heading east.

  “Any theories on where this convoy might be going?” Pax asked when Nyla finished her brief.

  “No idea,” she said. “Unless they’re all leaving.”

  Pax frowned. “The reports I heard said the other places that have bugged out usually had a stream of trucks moving from the station to whatever airport they were using.”

  “Could be they’re getting ready to do that.”

  “Could be,” he said. “But from the way you described it, it sounds a little bit different.”

  “If it’s not that, I don’t know what it is.”

  Eastern Hollywood gave way to Los Feliz and then Silver Lake.

  “We’re getting close,” Nyla said. “We’ll stop about a mile and a half out and hike in from there. Any closer and they might see us.”

  When they reached Alvarado Street, Gabriel pulled the van into the gas station on the northeast corner.

  “The hike’s a little hilly,” Gabriel explained as they climbed out. “But the good thing is that so far we haven’t seen any patrols at night. Hopefully that pattern will hold.”

  Duncan organized everyone into two parallel lines, and told them to keep their pace steady while watching out for the person in front of them.

  Pax noticed a few of them pulling their guns out of their bags. “Hold on,” he said. “Best if you keep those stowed for now. Nobody’s got holsters so you’d have to hold them, which means you might accidently pull the trigger. I’ve done it myself and let me tell you, it’s the last thing we need right now.”

  There was reluctance from a couple of people, but in the end they all put their weapons back in their bags.

  “Everyone ready?” Pax asked.

  There was no dissent.

  Looking at Nyla and Gabriel, he said, “Lead the way.”

  LOS ANGELES SURVIVAL STATION

  5:40 PM PST

  DR. LAWRENCE WAS looking through the window when the subject regained consciousness. The girl lay there for several seconds, staring up at the ceiling before she finally sat up.

  Immediately, she placed her hands over her eyes and winced.

  Lawrence pushed the intercom button. “Ruby, are you all right?”

  The girl moved her palms far enough apart to squint at the door. “What happened? Why am I in here?”

  Lawrence clicked the button again. “You had a reaction to the vaccine that caused you to lose consciousness. How are you feeling now? Are you ill?”

  The girl looked around. “What is this place?”

  “Isolation chamber. Merely a precaution.”

  Turning back to the door, the survivor said, “Precaution for what?”

  “As I told you, you had a reaction to the vaccine. It’s standard procedure in such circumstances to isolate th
e patient until we are sure everything is okay. Now, please answer my question. Are you feeling sick?”

  The girl blinked a few times. “My head hurts.”

  That symptom could have been as easily caused by the sedative as the virus.

  “Anything else?” Lawrence asked. “Do you feel…congested? Any difficulty breathing? Aches? Pains?”

  “Just the headache.”

  Interesting. The doctor noted it on her tablet.

  “How long do I have to stay in here?” the girl asked.

  “Overnight, at least. You will hopefully be able to leave tomorrow.”

  The answer didn’t seem to please her. “Can you at least turn up the air conditioner in here? It’s hot and…” She touched her arms. “I’m sticky.”

  “Why don’t you try to rest more and I’ll see what I can do.”

  As Lawrence stepped away from the door, Rivera asked, “So?”

  She grinned. “Nothing yet.”

  __________

  BEN WAITED UNTIL twenty minutes after the kitchen crew collected the dishes before he headed for the dormitory door. He only went a few steps, though, before Jilly ran up behind him and grabbed his arm.

  “Where are you going?” she asked.

  “You know where,” he said.

  “But we can’t leave Ruby.”

  Ben had known since Ruby had been led away that this discussion was coming. Jilly had pretty much spent the rest of the day sitting in the yard, watching the fence in hopes her friend would come back. Any attempt to discuss the escape plan had been shut down. Ben and the others knew, however, they couldn’t wait.

  “No one said anything about leaving her,” he said, “but we can’t do anything for her from in here. After we get out, we’ll figure something out.”

  “Like what?”

  “I promise. We’re not going to just disappear. We’ll get her.”

  “What if they bring her back right after we leave?”

  He grabbed her by the arms and locked eyes with her. “Jilly. We will get her out. But we need to get out of here first. Do you understand?”

  She blinked several times, fighting back tears. “We can’t leave,” she whispered.

  “You can stay here if you want, but if you choose to come, you have to do everything I tell you.”

  “I’ll…I’ll come.”

  “You’re sure?”

  “Yeah.”

  He smiled as he gave her arms a squeeze. “You’ll be number one behind me, okay?”

  “Okay. But don’t forget your promise.”

  “I won’t.”

  When he let go of her, he glanced at Preston, who was standing only a few feet behind them. Preston gave him a shallow nod, indicating he’d heard the conversation and would keep tabs on Jilly when Ben couldn’t.

  Ben made his way outside, strolled over to the fence, and dropped down. Crawling along the narrow shadow at the barrier, he worked his way around to the gate.

  Close up now, he examined the grass. What was amazing to him was how uniform and tightly woven it all was. His father had always prided himself on the grass in their yard but it was nothing like this. This was a work of art.

  He almost felt guilty as he dug his fingers through the blades, grabbed the roots, and pulled. As he’d hoped, a large chunk of grass came free in a single piece. He set it aside and began removing more and more grass, creating a lane about two feet wide and three long all the way to the gate. Once the grass was out of the way, he began digging through a layer of sand that came out a lot easier than he’d expected.

  “How’s it going?” The half-whispered question came from behind him.

  He looked back and spotted Preston standing a dozen feet away, facing the side so he wasn’t looking at him.

  “Faster than I thought,” he replied.

  “It’s going to work?”

  “I think so.”

  A foot down would probably be enough, but he went farther just in case. They certainly didn’t want anyone getting stuck trying to get out. After about two feet, he hit a layer of black plastic that he realized must be part of the irrigation system. That was fine. The trench was more than deep enough.

  After he had it cleared all the way to the gate, he stopped. They would dig out the other side when it was time to go.

  Though the sand he’d removed was all in the shadows, he covered it with the pieces of grass to cut down any chance the lighter colored material would be noticed. After examining his handiwork and determining there was nothing else he needed to do, he retraced his path along the fence and returned to the dorm.

  Those who were with Ben on trying to escape were gathered around one of the bunks near the door. The others were in the seating area, unaware what Ben had been doing.

  “So?” Jilly asked.

  “All done. Five minutes to clear the other side and we’re out.”

  “Except for the center-field fence, and the guards, and who knows what else,” Valerie said. She had reluctantly joined their escape plan, but still wasn’t above pointing out at every opportunity why it wouldn’t work.

  “Yeah, except for that,” Ben replied, choosing not to engage.

  “How long should we wait?” Preston asked.

  Ben shot a look toward the back of the building. “Until the others fall asleep, and then we go.”

  __________

  “WHAT THE HELL is he doing?” Nyla said.

  “Who?” Pax asked.

  “In the special holding area.”

  Pax had been studying the guards in the stadium bleachers. He refocused his binoculars on the area within the tarp-covered fence. “I don’t see anyone.”

  “That’s what I’m talking about,” she said. “He came out of the building and walked over to the fence, then I lost him.”

  “You sure he didn’t go back inside?”

  “Yes, sir. One hundred percent.”

  Pax scanned the fence all the way to the gate, searching for a tear in the tarp that might give him a view inside, but found none.

  “Could be he just needed some time away from the others,” he suggested.

  “I guess.”

  “Keep an eye out for him. I’ll be back in a minute.”

  He crawled backward from the crest of the hill and made his way to where the others were waiting.

  When Martina saw him, she stood up. “Are they still there? Please tell me they’re still there.”

  “The lights are on in the building, and Nyla saw at least one guy,” Pax said. “So someone is.”

  She frowned. “A guy? Not any of the girls?”

  Gabriel stepped over. “They usually stay inside after dinner, so that’s probably where they are.”

  “‘Probably’ doesn’t mean they are.”

  “Martina,” Pax said. “I understand what you—”

  “No, you don’t. You don’t understand. I should be—”

  “We have all lost people. Many, many people. So when there’s someone close to us still here, still breathing, we want to do anything we can to keep them alive. I get it. More than you can ever comprehend.” He paused. “My aim here isn’t to sound mean, but if you want to help us free your friends or whoever it is being held over there, then you need to get your head on straight and focus. If you can’t, if you’ll run off on your own and not follow directions, then I can’t have you coming along. And worse, I’ll have to task someone to stay here with you to make sure you don’t do anything rash.”

  She hugged her arms across her chest and looked away. After a moment, she nodded. “I get it. You’re right.”

  “So are you in or out?”

  “I’m in,” she said, looking at him again. “Definitely.”

  “And I can trust you won’t do anything stupid?”

  “I’ll do whatever you want me to do.”

  He held her gaze for a second before he smiled. “Never doubted you would. Wanted to make sure you didn’t doubt, either.” He turned to Gabriel. “The others?”

>   “Second team’s in place,” Gabriel said. “Team three’s hiking in, but should be in position within thirty minutes.”

  “Good.”

  “Do we have a plan yet?”

  “I got an inkling of something. It’ll be a little risky.”

  “At this point, what wouldn’t be?”

  “You’re right about that.” He glanced sideways at Martina, who was still standing nearby. To Gabriel, he said, “Walk me back.”

  They headed up the slope toward the lookout point.

  After they were out of range of the others, Pax said, “I’m going to need two people. Preferably a man and a woman. Gotta be people who are willing to act without hesitating. You got anybody like that in your squad?”

  “Sure. Nyla and I.”

  The same as Pax had been thinking, but no way would he risk them both on what he had in mind. “I’ll give it a little more thought and let you know what I decide.”

  “I’ll be ready for whatever you need.”

  “Thanks.”

  Gabriel turned back when they reached the point where Pax had to drop to a crawl.

  After Pax rejoined Nyla, he whispered, “Your guy show up again?”

  Still looking through her binoculars, she nodded. “A moment ago. Popped up same place where he disappeared, then walked inside the building.”

  “Just getting air, I guess.”

  “Not sure about that. Take a look at the gate.”

  He raised his binoculars. “What am I looking for?”

  “On the ground right outside.”

  He adjusted his angle.

  “You looking?” she asked.

  “Uh-huh.”

  “Just off center to the right.”

  He looked where she directed. “What the hell is that?”

  “I’m not sure. But it slid out from under the fence a few minutes before I saw him again.”

  “Is that…dirt?”

  “Could be.”

  “So he scooted a handful of dirt under the fence? Why?”

  “No idea.”

  Pax searched the area around the dirt, but there was nothing else to see but grass. Whatever the kid was doing, they couldn’t figure it out from where they were.